2 years after their interesting EP “Empty Head”, Saint Petersburg, Florida’s dark, noisy act VACANCY is back with new trio of tracks dubbed “ACHE”. This new short outing showscases the band’s sheer talent to marry darkness with a number of varied influences, ranging from metallic hardcore, to post punk, sludge and stoner metal, to noise, without losing an ounce of that strange magnetism that got us hooked from the get-go. This time, we caught up with the band to share their thoughts on each of the three tracks below! Keep an eye out for more information on their upcoming run to the East Coast as well as information on their full length which will be out later this year!
Words by the band’s singer, Eliot.
Weak Ends
Originally this was going to be the second song on the EP, but we realized it worked great as an opener to both our live sets and the EP itself so we switched it and the second track around. This is probably my current favorite song to play live. Lyrically, it’s centered around the typical working class struggle of putting in the majority of your time for meager returns, and the futility and depression that can bring. Definitely one of my favorite songs of ours to date.
Deconstructive
This song was originally going to open the EP but we decided it fit way better in the middle. This was the first new song we added to our set after we recorded our first EP “Empty Head” and I love the low end that comes in a little bit after it opens with just drums. Definitely one of my favorite vocal recordings that I’ve done in any band I’ve been as well, on this song in particular and on the EP as a whole. Lyrically the song deals with interpersonal relationships of all kinds, the give and take and the dead end feeling you get when the other person involved has seemingly stopped caring/won’t put themselves in your shoes. It’s a good mid-paced heavy song that I feel sets the stage well for the third and final track on the EP.
Ache
This song probably took longer than anything I’ve come up with as far as finalizing the lyrics and vocal parts go. It’s one of the heaviest songs concept wise I’ve ever worked on, the EP and our eventually full length (also titled Ache) center around several themes which all come to play on this song. There is a slow burning build to this song that I really love, we’ve been closing our live sets with it and I tried to match the vocal performance and lyrics with the desperation I feel it conveys musically. Lyrically, themes of struggling with mental health, feeling like your efforts are futile, and pain that grows as you grow older are the focuses of this song. Sometimes there are things in life that can lead you to feel invincible or give you an arguably false sense of security that the things you work hard for and cherish in your life cannot be taken away in an instant. This song is a reflection of tearing that notion down, and pushing as hard as you can while you are here in the moment for yourself and for the sake of possibly never getting another shot at it.
